In a mobile network, each Mobile Node (MN) is in communication with a single Access Point (AP) and receives communication via an Access Router (AR) associated with the AP. This situation represents a single point of attachment of the MN to the Internet. Conventionally, mobility management schemes use a two-level hierarchical approach to mobile Internet Protocols (IPs). Where a MN had moved from its home AP, the home AR receives and repackages a communication in a datagram from a source node, commonly called a Corresponding Node (CN), by adding a new header to a received datagram to redirect and “tunnel” the CN communication to the current IP address of the MN. The new/repackaged datagram encapsulates the original CN datagram in its data portion which is commonly referred to as internet protocol-in-internet protocol (IP-in-IP) encapsulation.
Network Address Translation enabled routers (NATs) may be used for connecting private networks to the Internet. As illustrated in FIG. 7, conventional Internet communications are conducted by establishing 48 bit bindings between NATs which identify nodes which are communicating with each other. The address space is divided into a set of registered 24 bit global addresses and a set of unregistered 24 bit local addresses by the Internet Address Numbers Authority (TANA). Private networks can use any address from the unregistered address space. The public or global addresses are registered and one address from this pool is assigned to each NAT.
The inventor has recognized that it would be desirable to modify the traditional Network Address Translation functions to handle the cases where Mobile Nodes (MNs) are allowed to migrate within their own private networks and where MNs are allowed to migrate from one private network to another.